MEET THE SPEAKER: SIMMONE TELEMACQUE – EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND COMPLIANCE IN AN AGENTIC AI ENVIRONMENT

Speaker Name:Simmone Telemacque

What's one thing you hope attendees take away from your session?

Compliance cannot be an afterthought in the AI lifecycle. We need to move beyond viewing AI in isolation and proactively embrace it within compliance culture, control frameworks and monitoring programmes. This means being in the room from the outset and working alongside model developers and deployers to embed compliance by design throughout the AI journey. In addition, it is important that compliance have the technical expertise to be able to effectively check and challenge. It is essential that when compliance are building out governance programmes that sufficient time is taken to understand the way the AI models work and the data it has been trained on. Compliance needs to also understand the expertise of data scientists and have enough technical knowledge to speak their language, advise appropriately and be able to translate regulatory requirements into practical solutions that align with the technology, business objectives and risk profile of the Firm.

In one sentence, what do you do and what is your role?

I'm a Regulatory Compliance SME with over a decade of experience across financial services, advising on regulatory obligations, leading remediation and transformation initiatives, and designing control libraries. I've deliberately built breadth across different roles and disciplines to develop a holistic perspective and navigate complex regulatory challenges and risk considerations.

What's the biggest challenge facing the industry in this area?

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that governance and compliance keep pace with the speed of AI adoption. AI cannot be treated purely as a technology initiative; compliance, risk and governance need to be involved early enough to help shape how AI is developed and deployed, rather than addressing risks retrospectively.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone working in fintech today?

Be adaptable and embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Fintech is fast-moving and constantly evolving, so taking ownership, contributing as a thought leader and helping to shape processes will be invaluable. Curiosity and flexibility will go a long way.

What book, podcast, newsletter, or resource would you recommend to our audience?

A book I would recommend and have read an unhealthy amount of times is The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. This book really highlights the power of visualisation, removing limitations and thinking outside of the ordinary. It also hones in on the importance of having the right mindset and approaching life with a positive can-do-attitude. One of my favourite lines of the book which I've adopted in both a personal and professional capacity is "In everything you do, life it up."

What topic will you be speaking about at FinTech Connect 2026?

I'll be on a panel discussing my view on effective governance and compliance in an Agentic AI Environment.

Just for fun: if you could have dinner with any person, past or present, who would it be and why?

Arnold Schwarzenegger. I am greatly inspired by people who set themselves seemingly impossible goals and refuse to accept that they cannot be achieved. I'm also deeply fascinated by the concept of 'The American Dream' and I'd love to understand what drove him to completely go against the curve and continually push beyond the limits of what others thought was possible.

What industry trend are you watching most closely?

I'm watching the evolution of ethics by design particularly closely. As AI systems become increasingly autonomous, how we ensure they are trained and deployed using appropriate, ethical and representative data will become a key priority. And, perhaps more importantly, who will determine the universally accepted definition of 'ethical' and what approach will the regulators take to create consistency around those expectations, across the industry.

Why is this topic particularly important right now?

As AI becomes embedded in decision-making, we need to think about ethics at the design stage rather than trying to address concerns after the fact. From a compliance perspective, it is important that clear and consistent ethical principles are built into how AI is developed and governed, including how we determine whether the data and outcomes remain fair and appropriate as these systems evolve.

What's one prediction you have for the next 3-5 years?

Over the next 3-5 years, I expect conversations around AI in financial services to centre on guardrails, accountability and ownership when deficiencies are identified, particularly around who is ultimately responsible for the outcomes of AI-driven decisions. These conversations will be key as AI systems become more independent ,the focus will need to shift towards how Firms evidence a new kind of governance and oversight.